Miller's defense makes key stops as Bucs upset Laredo Nixon

Clay rushes for 161 yards and passes for 126 yards

GEORGE TULEY/SPECIAL TO THE CALLER-TIMES
The point-after touchdown attempt by Miller's Juan Omana was blocked by Nixon's Tadeo Gonzalez (16) and then picked up by Nixon's Cesar Cortez who almost ran the blocked kick in for two points before being tackled by Miller's Fernando Vela at the Miller five yard line at Buc Stadium in Corpus Christi, Saturday October 20, 2012. Holding the ball was Jesse Franco (11).

CORPUS CHRISTI - Tyrell Clay did a little bit of everything for Miller on Saturday night.

He did his usual stellar work at quarterback, running for 161 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for 126 yards and two more scores. He also returned kicks and played a little safety.

But in the most crucial moment of the game, he stayed on the sideline as a bystander.

To his delight, he watched his defense get one final stop as Miller upset Laredo Nixon 38-35 at Buc Stadium.

After Nixon (4-3 overall, 2-2 District 31-4A) scored with just under two minutes remaining, the Mustangs defense forced Miller to punt. Nixon got the ball back with 1:20 left in the game. Fortunately for the Bucs, the Mustangs had to start at their own 10 after a block in the back during the punt return.

Miller (3-4, 1-3) allowed one first down, and then the defense stiffened up. After first down was wasted as Nixon spiked the ball to stop the clock with 50 seconds left, Mustangs quarterback Ralph Perez threw an incompletion.

On third down, Miller safety Lee Ramos broke up a pass intended for Jesus Perez, who had 11 catches for 161 yards. Then, on fourth down, defensive lineman Christopher Thomas got some pressure on the quarterback and deflected his pass as he let it go to force the turnover on downs.

"I like to play defense when needed, so I really wanted to be out there on that last possession, but coach told me stay on the sidelines and have faith in the defense," Clay said. "I had faith, but I was nervous. Those guys came through though. They played great when they needed to."

Although Ralph Perez threw for 261 yards, Miller got several key stops in the second half and completely shut down the Nixon running game. Mustangs running back Richie Rendon, who was averaging 101 rushing yards per game, ran for minus-2 yards on five carries. The Mustangs rushed for 73 yards as a team.

"I'm really proud of the defense," Miller coach Remy Rodriguez said. "The coaching staff did a good job of getting those guys prepared all week. They have a good offense, so we tried to switch things up on them, and it worked."

The biggest play on defense came with 4:45 left in the game.

Nixon scored on Ralph Perez's one-yard run to cut the deficit to 31-28 with 6:12 remaining. Miller quickly went three and out on offense and had to punt.

The Mustangs were set up with the ball on their own 27, trailing by three. On the first play of the possession, defensive lineman Jon Lopez read a screen play perfectly, lagging back in coverage instead of rushing the quarterback. Ralph Perez tried to loft the screen pass high in the air to Rendon, Lopez leapt and snagged the ball out of the sky for an interception. Four plays later, Fernando Vela, who ran for 99 yards and scored three touchdowns, bounced into the end zone for a score that put Miller up 38-28.